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Saturday, August 18, 2012

A Delightful Saturday Outing

This Saturday we went to the Maumee Valley Antique Gas and Steam Show, the cost was $5/person over the age of 12.  Emily came along to help with the boys, we had two strollers, and Henry was very, very excited to go see all of the tractors and he was not disappointed.
There were tractors everywhere and of all ages, there were steam tractors and gas powered tractors of all ages, shapes, and sizes.  There was a little something for everyone, a quilt show, clog dancing, junk food, chicken dinners, ice cream, a model airplane air show,  a flea market, and exhibitions of various machinery in use.  There were free activities for children, a clown making balloon animals, face painting, and a barrel train ride, Henry and Patrick participated in all of these activities.  We really enjoyed the quilt show, and I say we, because the little boys really, really liked the quilts, some were very colorful, others had interesting block designs, and Patrick was so very, very excited when he saw a YO GABBA GABBA child quilt, he just stared at it in awe saying in a soft voice "Yo Gabba Gabba".
When we first arrived we watched a tree trunk get sawed into planks, this was done using a huge saw blade,  at least a yard in diameter, powered by a steam engine that ran an extremely long belt to drive multiple pulleys to turn the saw fast enough to quickly saw through a tree trunk length wise, very impressive.  Later on they had a planing exhibition to show how the rough cut planks are made uniform in size and shape.
We then headed over to a pavilion to watch the AppleJack Cloggers, they were a fun and entertaining bunch of dancers ranging in age from teenagers to retirees, they danced to fun music like the Wabash Cannon Ball. The emcee told some rather lame jokes between dance numbers, very lame but silly enough to make you chuckle.
After enjoying the clogging we headed over to the model airplane runway to watch the airplanes fly and do tricks, this was put on by the Fort Wayne Flying Circuits Model Airplane Club.  The planes were quite impressive, they all appeared to have a wingspan of four to five feet, and they were very nimble, one red and white stripped plane did all kinds of loop de loops and dizzying dives it was very fun to watch.  Again the little boys were enamored with the planes, they did not want to leave, they enjoyed watching them take off and land, and of course fly.  Eventually we did leave to go find some lunch. Henry and Patrick enjoyed a hamburger, Emily found a gyro, I opted for a breaded tenderloin and some coleslaw.  After lunch and a short time to play on a jungle gym, Henry ran around up and down ladders telling everyone he was Fireman Sam, we headed over to get some homemade ice cream - YUMMY - it was very good.
After all of this Charlie needed a bottle, so I fed him while Emily took the boys off to ride the barrel train, this  they did by themselves and they were gone for a while, we would see them go by and think they were about to return, but no, they simply wound around and appeared again then disappeared and finally returned to the depot, for a FREE ride they really got a good deal.
Then off to wander the flea market, I found a funny sign for Dave to hang in the garage, it says, "What happens in the garage stays in the garage", then has a sketch of a guy kicked back in a chair drinking a beer while watching football on a little tv, the car in the background still appears in need of repair!!
By this point everyone was feeling a bit tired and we were ready to head home, all three boys were asleep within a few minutes of leaving and we headed home with a definite plan to attend the Maumee Valley Gas and Steam Engine Show again in 2013.
Here are some pictures to enjoy. (Please note, I forgot to take my camera so only had my cell phone to take pictures with, it does an okay job but has no zoom).

Rows of tractors to look at.

A tree trunk already partially sawed and getting ready to go through again.

The steam engine powering the long, long belt to run the saw blade.

A close up of the steam engine.

Face painting completed and balloon dogs in hand the boys are feeling quite pleased.

A not very good shot of the airfield, there are planes on the ground, a yellow one in  the center of the picture.

The speck in the sky is the red dare devil airplane

We had just finished eating our lunch in the tent we took a picture of the boys to send to their Mommy  while she was at work.

Patrick really enjoyed his chocolate ice cream.

Not sure what this is, but it looked kind of cool, I think it is some kind of hot rod tractor.

More farm machinery.

A "John Deere" bicycle, Emily liked it a lot, it had a tractor seat and a steering  wheel and could be all yours for a mere $50.

Henry and Patrick in the first two cars of the barrel train.  Called a barrel train because the cars are made out o f, you guessed it, barrels.

Ah, a pedal car, this brought back memories.

A steam roller I think, it emitted a lot of steam and had a large roller, so I put two and two together and hope that I have not come up with seven.


5 comments:

Pete said...

Steam-roller is an English name for a steam powered road roller. Other illogical nouns in England include windscreen for windshield, clockwork toy for wind-up toy, nappy for diaper and perambulator for baby carriage. American nouns are invariably the more pragmatic.

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

Looks like fun!

Emily said...

I had alot of fun that day.
Thank You

Rebecca said...

The weather really cooperated, too, didn't it? Our friends were there and told us about it Sunday over dinner.... Maybe WE'LL make it in 2013 :)

Bean said...

Hi Rebecca,

It was well worth the $5 admission fee, and it was very low key, not crowded and stressful, and yes the weather cooperated and was absolutely perfect.

Looks like you had a fun week with some of your grandchildren.

Bean